


I Got The Boy

by NaturallyCuriousAddict



Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Brotherhood, F/M, Future Fic, Light Angst, Sonny and Clay are Best Friends, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-16 03:07:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19309375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaturallyCuriousAddict/pseuds/NaturallyCuriousAddict
Summary: “If you enlist, Clay, I walk out of here. This apartment, this relationship and your life.”Twelve years later she realised her mistake.





	I Got The Boy

“I really hope you don’t expect me to wait around for you to come back broken and bruised. Because I’m not.” Clay looked at his girlfriend of three years and immediately recognised the look on her face. Lips pursed, right eyebrow raised and a challenge in her eyes. It was that exact look that drew him to her in the first place. But he didn’t want to deal with that look tonight.

Clay sighed as he sunk deeper into the couch, “Riles, plea-”

Riley jumped up from the couch. “No, don’t Riles me! What are you thinking? Wanting to enlist?” Riley started to pace in front of the couch, not giving Clay a moment to interrupt. “What do you even think they’re going to do with you and your long hair and skinny ass? It’s not like what you see in the movies Clay. You are not going to be all buff after six months of running and doing push-ups.”

Clay’s mouth promptly fell open. He couldn’t believe that Riley just said what she did. She usually had a sharp tongue but tonight it seemed extra sharp. Clay knew he shouldn’t let her comments get to him. He knew he should just let it roll off his back but he couldn’t help it. Him being skinny and not having any muscle was something Clay was stressed about. He heard that NAVY training was brutal, and he realised on him it might be more so than on others, but Clay was determined. If that meant he had to change his diet then he would. If it meant that he would have to spend the last of his money on a gym membership then he would also do that. Anything to succeed in redeeming the Spencer name.

Riley knew she had hit where it would hurt most but she didn’t see another way. She had to stop Clay before he made a huge mistake that would completely break him and their relationship. Being a military wife was not something she saw in her future. Riley dropped to her knees in front of Clay and took one of his hands in both of hers. “I’ll help you look. There must be something else out there for you to do.” she whispered.

Clay sighed deeply before he placed his free hand on her cheek, “There is nothing else I want to do, Riley. I want to enlist. I want to join the NAVY.”

Riley firmly shook her head. She was afraid that this would happen. That neither of them would give. He left her with no choice but to present him with one. “If you enlist, Clay, I walk out of here. This apartment, this relationship and your life.”

Clay’s brows furrowed, not immediately registering what Riley said. Riley wanted to smooth that crease away with her thumb but she would not give in. Clay had to realise that the NAVY was the wrong place for him. He had a temper; he had no muscle and he didn’t do good with authority.

But that is not how Clay saw it. He saw it as an opportunity to better himself, to work on his shortcomings and better the Spencer name. And as Clay looked at her, seeing how ready she was to walk out of his life because she wasn’t happy with a decision he made for himself, he decided that he wouldn’t stop her. If she didn’t want to be there through the hard times, he didn’t want her there during the good ones.

Clay nodded his head, completely missing the flicker of hope in Riley’s eyes. He pulled his hand out of hers and stood up. “Then I guess you better pack because I already enlisted. My training starts in a month.” 

Clay shrugged his jacket on and walked to the front door. Pausing with his hand on the door handle, he said, “I expect for you to be out of here when I get back tomorrow.” The last thing Riley heard before sobs took over her body was the sound of the front door slamming.

* * *

“Stella, thank you so much for doing this. I really appreciate it.” 

Stella smiled at the woman sitting across from her over her laptop screen. “Oh, it was my pleasure. I should actually be thanking you, Riley. My professor told me I need to start working on my client list if I wanted to establish myself as a translator. Even if I am still busy trying to get my degree in it.” 

Riley studied Stella as she finished up the invoice that she needed to email to the company that Riley worked for. She couldn’t help but compare herself to Stella for a quick second. She had rich chocolate brown hair that brushed her shoulders and her makeup was beautifully done. Unlike Stella, Riley only applies mascara and eyeliner on the mornings she has the time to do so. With Stella, it was obvious she had a full face of makeup on but it looked so natural. The longer Riley looked at Stella, the more self-conscious she felt. Whereas Stella looked completely comfortable in her slightly muscled body, which Riley was sure she worked at, maybe running, Riley sat a certain way throughout the whole meeting because she was aware the ‘softer’ parts of her body. Riley shook her head and picked up her coffee cup. “I admire you. Still studying at 28 while working as a literature professor. Gotta say, I can’t do that.” 

Stella’s finger paused over the send button for a second before she hit it and closed her laptop screen. She thought very carefully about her next words. “It keeps my mind busy.” She didn’t want tell a near perfect stranger that teaching gave her something to do during the day other than worry. Didn’t want to mention that the studying kept mind busy during the night when she could not sleep because fear would consume her. She didn’t want to say any of this to Riley because if you don’t send your loved one off into a war zone on a regular basis, not knowing if you just shared your last goodbye, then you don’t understand. 

Everyday Stella thanked her lucky stars that Naima approached her and pulled her into the pink squadron. She would not have gotten through the last couple of deployments if it wasn’t for Naima and the other wives. How they all support each other… Stella have never experienced anything like it. She still could not believe that they accepted her at first, especially because back then she was just Clay’s girlfriend, not his wife, but now 3 years later, she considers those women more her family than her actual parents. There’s something to be said about shared fear and grief.

Stella moved to put away her laptop and notes while Riley motioned to the coffee shop waitress that they wanted the bill. After Riley paid her half of the bill, she looked out the coffee shop window. Her brows furrowed when she didn’t see any new cars in café parking lot.

“Do you need a ride home? I can drop you off wherever you need to be.” 

Stella’s head tilted to the side. Riley realised that might have been a bit out of the blue. “I saw you walking to café, not drive.” 

Stella chuckled. “My husband dropped me off at the university early this morning for my 9AM class and then I just walked the block from there to here. He is coming to pick me up in,” Stella looked at her watch, “about fifteen minutes. But thanks for offering.”

“Good to know there are still a few gentlemen left in this world.” Riley said as she packed away her own notes. “The last time I had a boyfriend that drove me around was when I was nineteen. Ever since then all the men I knew either took a cab wherever they needed to be or walked. On one of my dates, the guy called me before he came to pick me up and told me to wait outside for him because he didn’t want to keep the meter running for longer than necessary.” A horrified look crossed Stella’s face as Riley nodded her head. “Chivalry must have died and your husband was the last survivor.”

As Stella paid her half of the bill, she said, “I don’t know if it is my husband’s attempt at chivalry or to brag to anybody that will listen.” After Stella thanked Lori, their waitress, she turned to find a confused looking Riley. Stella grimaced as she realised how that must have sounded. 

“My husband owns a car, he’s had it for longer than I’ve known him, but when we moved out of our apartment into a house a couple of months ago, he borrowed his friend, Jason’s truck to move some of the bigger things that couldn’t fit into said car. That day my husband completely fell in love with this specific truck and was hell bend on getting one himself. So, I went through weeks of bribing, I’m sorry I mean pampering,” At this Riley could not help but laugh, “before I gave in and told him we could go see a dealer. My big mistake, because after that test drive, I was more in love with it than my husband. So, he ordered it right before he went on deployment. I swear, he was more excited to see that massive GMC truck when he got back than he was to see his wife.” 

Six days ago, Clay called Stella and told her Bravo was coming home. She then decided to surprise Clay with his new truck, which was delivered a couple of weeks after they deployed. After Naima called two days later and told her the plane would land soon, she drove Clay’s new truck to the base and waited with Naima by her car. The homecoming was an amazing feeling, as always, filled with tight hugs and relieved kisses, hugging everyone else and thanking God that they got home safe. But the best part of Clay’s last homecoming was when she took his hand and led him to where she parked. 

_“Did you walk here?” Clay hadn’t released his tight grip on her hand for even a moment._  
_“No, I drove.” Stella said innocently._  
_“Okay…” Clay looked around. “Where did you park? Outside the base?”_  
_Stella shook her head and stopped walking. “Nope, right here.” She said and pointed to her right._  


Clay looked like a kid, when he saw his truck. Stella knew it was the right decision not to tell him it arrived while he was away. This was the best sort of surprise after a long, hard couple of months. Stella smiled knowing it was a memory she would keep forever. 

“Anyway, now that he’s back, he can’t stop driving it, hence him dropping me off this morning and picking me up now.” Stella laughed and shook her head. “Boys and their toys, right?”

Riley frowned, a word she hadn’t thought about in years caught her attention. She didn’t want to pry but she was curious. “Deployment? You married to an army man?” 

Stella shook her head and put her coffee cup down. “NAVY actually.”

“Wow. Explains the teaching and studying at the same time.”

Stella tried her best to give Riley an easy smile. “I get through. We, actually, get through those times together. We have a really good support system. You know, the rest of the wives and I.”

Riley nodded along to what Stella said but, really, she didn’t know. She barley has any contact with her family. She has good friends that she can go out with but not real, close friends that she can call when things get difficult. She’s always had to be her own support system. 

Riley twisted the ring on her pinkie finger around. “And the rest of the time? You know, when your men are home, do you wives still get together?” A small part of Riley wanted Stella to say that no, they don’t. That they are not a close-knit group that can rival even the strongest of family bonds. She wanted Stella to say that because Riley realised that she could have had that life. A life filled with family and support and love for one another.

Stella’s soft laughter pulled Riley out of her thoughts. “You know, I think we see each other even more during the times that our boys are home. They never seem to separate. Not when they are overseas and not when they are here. Most of the time I have Sonny sleeping on my couch.” 

Stella's words sounded exasperated but the fondness with which she said it was unmistakable. “Anyway, that is actually why my husband is picking me up, except for wanting to show off his new truck. We are going to, previously mentioned Sonny’s barbeque.” Stella closed her eyes and hummed in appreciation. “I swear, you have not lived until you have tasted Sonny’s barbeque.”

“This Sonny sounds like quite the character.” Riley said cautiously as she played with the ring on her pinkie.

“He really is, especially when he’s had a few. But he is also my husband’s best friend and he trusts Sonny with his life, meaning I trust Sonny with his life. So, I let him crash on my couch whenever he wants and keep the fridge stock with beer as a subtle way to say thanks.” 

Riley doesn’t quite know what to say to that so, instead she says, “How did you take the news when your husband told you he wanted to join the NAVY?” Riley remembered that she did not take it well. 

Stella shrugged her shoulders, an air of nonchalance surrounded her. “When I met my husband, he was already in the NAVY. He was finishing up his SEAL training so it wasn’t like a bomb was being dropped on me.” 

Riley’s eyes narrowed. “SEAL? Aren’t they like the elite of the military?” 

Stella nodded her head. “As far as I understand they are somewhere up there. Usually send into some of the most … dangerous of situations.” Stella’s last few words trailed of. Riley watched as Stella disappeared inside her own head. She was just beginning to wonder whether or not she should try and pull Stella from her reverie when Stella suddenly shook her head as a strangled laugh escaped her throat. “They’re uhm… they’re high up enough to give me 300 sleepless nights out of the year.”

Riley nodded her head, deep in her own thoughts. “The guy I mention earlier, the last boyfriend that drove me around?” Riley took a deep breath, “He wanted to join the NAVY, but I don’t think he made it.”

Stella frowned. “Oh, Why’s that?”

Riley released a heavy sigh, not because of Stella’s question but rather because of the frustration she felt rising in her chest. After all this time and Riley still hadn’t made peace with his decision. “He had this distorted idea that he could follow in his father’s footsteps. When he talked about the NAVY, he always mentioned his father and how his father was a SEAL and that is was his goal to become a SEAL himself.”

Even after twelve years, Riley could still remember the arguments they had over Ash Spencer. How Clay wanted to follow his father’s line of work and how Riley could not find peace with that fact. She remembered the many nights that Clay would storm out of their apartment, raging mad after their fights, only to come back the next morning completely hungover. 

“Why do you say that joining the NAVY was a distorted idea?” Stella asked slowly. She didn’t want to overstep her boundaries but she was curious.

Riley shrugged a shoulder. She felt no shame as she said, “He was a long haired, skinny, temperamental guy with no discipline and a drinking problem. Someone who started fights anywhere, anytime and usually, he was worse off than the other guy. His size really counted against him. Like I said, he was thin. And not in the lean muscled sort of way. He was just lanky and uncoordinated. And I couldn’t put up with the thought of him going off into a war zone, if he miraculously got through the training, only to never come back.” Riley took a deep breath. That was way more than what she wanted to say. She should have stopped at drinking problem but by then the words was falling out of her mouth.

Stella could only look at Riley with slightly widened eyes. She felt sorry for Riley, in a way. Stella hated the idea of Clay leaving. Every time that damn device went off, a coldness goes through her body that seemed to stay with her until she had her husband back in her arms. But she’s got to a point where she trusts in Clay’s ability to protect himself and she trusts in the team’s ability to protect each other and bring each other home safely. A couple of years back, she was where Riley still is today, but luckily, Stella came to the realisation, with Naima’s help, of course, that she would rather worry about Clay and be there to help him through his hardships rather than worry about him and not be able to go to him at all. 

“Don’t you think the training would have knocked that hard-headedness out of him? I mean, from what I understand, the training is gruelling. My husband told me it knocked his stubborn ass into line.” Stella smiled, thinking of Clay, and drank the last of her coffee. 

Riley smiled as well, thinking it was sweet of Stella to try and paint her ex in a good light. But she didn’t know him. She didn’t know how easily he lost his temper, how easy it was for him to get drunk, or how easily he gave up on things the second it got hard. “No, not him. He would not have made it.” 

Stella decided not to push the topic any further. She could see that Riley had made up her mind about her ex and it was not Stella’s place to try and change it. Especially because she didn’t even know the guy. She was about to change the topic of conversation to something lighter when her phone rang.

Riley looked at the phone on the table as it rang. In those couple of seconds, as she looked at the phone, it felt as if the whole world simultaneously sped up and slowed down. The first thing she noticed was the picture. She immediately recognised Stella, even if she had sunglasses on. What made her look twice at the photo was the guy who had his arms around Stella from behind. She recognised that face. Now, twelve years later, it was more angular and defined and he definitely had more facial hair than he had at nineteen but those eyes hadn’t changed a bit. And if Riley hoped, for even a second that it might be someone that just looked a lot like him, that hope was shattered when she saw the name at the top. There in white capital letters it stared it her: CLAY. 

Stella picked her phone up from the table before Riley could stare any longer. Stella quickly said, “My husband” before she swiped to answer, but Riley barely heard her. Seeing his face brought back all sorts of different memories. 

“Hey babe.”

Riley never called him babe. She always called him Clay. The closest she got to a pet name was C. She looked at Stella, at the smile on her face. It was soft, affectionate. Riley could probably count the amount of times she had that look on her face when she talked to one of her boyfriends on one hand. 

“How do you not see me Clay? The plants in front of the window is not that high.”

They also never had any playful banter. And if they started to banter, then it always ended in a full-fledged fight. A fight that usually ended in something being broken, Clay storming out of the apartment and Riley sitting on the couch, drinking alone.

“Okay, well, I see you through the window. So, wait out there. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Riley’s head snapped right. She didn’t even need to search for him. Parked right next to her white Chevrolet Spark, was the massive GMC truck that Stella talked about. And in front of this massive truck, a man was leaning against the hood, one leg crossed over the other. One arm held a phone up against his ear as the other was crossed over his chest, the position showing of his defined arms. And not lean, muscled arms but big, well-defined arms. Arms that made Riley think that Stella must feel incredibly safe when they were wrapped around her. 

The scraping of a chair brought Riley’s attention back to the table. Stella stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. She turned to Riley after she said goodbye and put her phone in her back pocket. “I really appreciate you meeting me here today, Riley. Sorry I can’t stay any longer but my rides here.” Stella jerked her head to the window with a smile.

Riley turned to look out of the window again. She tried to keep her voice as light as possible, “Better get going. Don’t want to keep a man that good looking waiting too long."

Stella threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, it’s a good thing he didn’t hear you. His ego doesn’t need any more boosting.”

Surprising herself, Riley smiled a real smile. She looked back out the window at Clay and said, “You know, not anyone can wear a cap backwards without making it look tacky. He makes it look very natural.”

Stella scoffed. “That cap is glued to his head. I had to bribe him to take it off for our wedding.”

Both women took a moment to look at Clay as he scrolled through something on his phone. “Well, I really have to go now. Sonny will have my head if Clay is late. But call me if anything is wrong with the translation, okay? Bye Riley.”

Before Riley could respond with her own goodbye, Stella was already out the door. She watched as a smile so wide spread across Clay’s face, it could have wrapped around his head, twice. She saw him put a hand on Stella’s hip as he kissed her cheek and took her bag. In a very gentlemanly manner, Clay opened the door for his wife and helped her into the high truck. She saw him jog over to the driver’s seat and get in himself. She saw the car started and she watched as they shared a short, sweet kiss where he put his hand on her cheek before he reversed out of the parking space and drove off.

Riley sat at that table in the coffee shop, thinking, for the next fifteen minutes. She tried not to dwell on the fact that everything Stella was experiencing in her life, was things that she could have experienced. She could have shared kisses with Clay, both inside and outside of his truck. She could have gone with Clay to a barbeque so good, it was life-changing. She could have been the one who let his best friend crash on her couch and keep the fridge stocked with beer. She could experience the fear that Stella must feel every time Clay has to go away. She could experience the sense of family Stella feels every time all the wives get together to support one another. She could have experienced all of that, had she not tried to make him choose between her and his dream. 

She knew she didn’t deserve to feel even one thing of what Stella felt. She didn’t believe in Clay when he needed her to and he went on to do great things. He made a decision and stayed with it. He persevered and found a great family for himself, both with Stella and his team. His brothers. Twelve years later and Riley felt her heart break all over again. This time over everything she now knows she missed out on. 

Riley gathered her things and walked out to her car. She started the engine before her door was even closed. Riley was in a rush to get away from that coffee shop. She wanted to get as far away as she possibly can. As she drove, the lyrics of the song that played over the radio caught her attention. 

_I got the first kiss and she'll get the last_  
_She's got the future, I got the past_  
_I got the class ring, she got the diamond and wedding band_  
_I got the boy, she got the man_  


Those lyrics haunted Riley on her way home. As she stepped into her empty apartment twenty-five minutes later. The first thing that caught her eye was the silver circle laying in a bowl next to the door. 

On that day, twelve years later, Riley realised her mistake.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked if. If you did, leave me a comment. If you really liked it, hit the kudos button and if you really didn't, hit the back button.
> 
> Thank you for taking time out of you day to read this fic.


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